Red Sox trade outfielder Andrew Benintendi to Royals in three-team deal that includes Mets

All three members of the last Boston Red Sox championship outfield are (likely) gone.  

One year to the day after Boston traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster, another of his former teammates is on the move. Andrew Benintendi was sent to the Royals late Wednesday night as part of a three-team deal that also involves the Mets.  

The Red Sox sent Benintendi and cash considerations to Kansas City. Boston received outfielder Franchy Cordero from the Royals, minor league right-hander Josh Winckowski from the Mets, two players to be named later from the Royals and a player to be named later from New York. Outfield prospect Khalil Lee is headed from the Royals to the Mets in the deal.   

The Red Sox officially announced the deal about an hour before midnight Wednesday. 

Betts signed a long-term extension with Los Angeles prior to winning his second championship in 2020. Jackie Bradley Jr. is a free agent and has yet to be signed ahead of spring training’s opening later this month. Now Benintendi is off to the American League Central and leaves behind an uncertain future in the Red Sox outfield.  

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Benintendi was the seventh overall selection out of Arkansas in the 2015 draft. He debuted in August 2016 and showed flashes of brilliance over the next five seasons with Boston. His 2020 finale was one to forget – 14 games, one extra-base hit, 17 strikeouts and a right rib cage injury that forced him to be shut down.  

Benintendi collected 20 home runs and 20 steals during his full-season debut in 2017. He was even better the following year – 16 home runs, 21 stolen bases and an .830 OPS for a team that rolled through both the regular season and October. Benintendi made the clinching diving catch in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series against Houston and helped Boston finish off the Dodgers in the World Series in just five games.  

Benintendi’s failed stint in the leadoff spot ahead of Betts helped spoil his 2019. He closed with just a .774 OPS, and his struggles against left-handed pitching continued to be magnified. Benintendi carries just a .691 career OPS against southpaws compared to an .821 OPS against right-handers.   

Cordero was an international signing from the Dominican Republic in 2011 and debuted with the Padres six years later. He showed significant power and speed in the minor leagues with San Diego, belting a combined 35 triples in 2016 and 2017. Cordero closed with a .972 OPS in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2017.  

Injuries derailed the 26-year-old Cordero’s path to the big leagues, and he was dealt to Kansas City in July 2020. Cordero has been sidelined with a groin strain, right forearm strain, bone spurs in his right elbow – which required surgery – and a broken hamate bone in his right hand. He appeared in just nine games for the Padres in 2019 and 16 for the Royals in 2020.  

Winckowski is on the move for the second time in less than two weeks. He was part of a four-player deal in late January that saw left-hander Steven Matz go from New York to the Blue Jays. The 22-year-old has started in all but four of his 54 professional appearances and has never appeared above Class A.  

Betts was moved to the Dodgers along with left-hander David Price and $48 million for outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong. Verdugo was one of few highlights on a bad Red Sox team last season, as Boston finished last in the A.L. East for the fourth time since 2012. Downs and Wong both worked at the alternate site in Pawtucket as members of the 60-man player pool.  

Cordero has three years of team control remaining and doesn’t reach free agency until the 2024 season. He’s signed to a one-year deal worth $800,000 for the upcoming campaign. Winckowski’s arbitration clock has yet to start.  

Benintendi is due $6.6 million in 2021, and MLB.com reported Boston will cover $2.8 million of his salary. He’s arbitration-eligible for the final time in 2022, hits free agency in 2023 and carries additional value due to the final year of club control. Boston seems likely to move forward in the outfield with some combination of Verdugo, Hunter Renfroe and Kiké Hernandez, a largely full-time designated hitter in J.D. Martinez and a host of noteworthy prospects including Jarren Duran, Gilberto Jimenez, Jeisson Rosario and Marcus Wilson.